Matt is the Director of Research Programs a the University of Massachusetts Center for Data Science, where he spearheads a workforce analytics research initiative.  His research focuses on applying machine learning methods to the workforce domain (learning sequence models of career paths, using relational graphical models to explain career transition, discovering topic structure in course materials and job descriptions, etc.).  Prior to joining UMass, Matt co-founded Edgeflip, a data-intensive social media startup focused serving social good organizations.  In 2012, Matt was a part of the transformational analytics team at Obama For America, where he led the campaign's targeted social media efforts.  He has also worked as a data scientist in the financial services industry.  Matt holds a BA from Wesleyan University, and an MA and PhD in Computer Science from UMass.